1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a power feeding unit for motor vehicle sliding door, and more particularly, a power feeding unit provided between a vehicle body and the sliding door slidably attached to the vehicle body.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, abutting terminals shown in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-open No. 4-124555 is known as a power feeding unit for motor vehicle sliding door.
That is, as shown in FIG. 8, in a power feeding unit 100, a first feeding terminal 103 to be connected to a battery side (not illustrated) is provided on a vehicle body 102 side and a second feeding terminal 104 to be connected to a door control unit (not illustrated) side is provided on a sliding door 101 capable of sliding back and forth. A connectable and disconnectable terminal 106 being surrounded with an insulating member 105 is provided on the first feeding terminal 103. And, on shutting the sliding door 101, the terminal 106 is pushed by the end 104a of the second feeding terminal 104 and is sandwiched, whereby the first and the second feeding terminals 103,104 are connected.
In the above prior art, however, in an opened-state of the sliding door 101, because the power feeding to the sliding door 101 side stops, measures such as prevention of putting a person therebetween cannot be taken. And, because of having double contact points, reliability would not be high.
When the above sliding door is opened, because the sliding door is once pull forward and is slid rearward, it would not be so easy to feed electric power to the sliding door side without a break.
A power feeding unit solving the above problems is, however, disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 7-222274.
In FIGS. 9A, 9B, 10A, and 10B, a getting-on-and-off opening 112 is formed substantially in a middle portion of a body sidewall portion 111 of a high-roof type motor vehicle 110, and a sliding door 113 slidable back and forth is provided on getting-on-and-off opening 112. At upper and lower portions of the getting-on-and-off opening 112, respective slider rails 114,115 are formed on the body sidewall portion 111. And, another slider rail 116 is formed on the body sidewall portion 111 behind the opening 112.
Front portions 114a, 115a, 116a of the respective slider rails 114, 115, 116 curve to a cabin 110a side by a thickness of the sliding door 113. The hinge rollers 114b,115b,116b are inserted into the respective slider rails 114,115,116, and engage edge portions 117 of the slider rails 114,115,116, which the hinge rollers 114b,115b,116b are provided on end portions of respective hinge portions 114c,115c,116c rotatably.
The other ends of the respective hinge portions 114c,115c,116c are secured to a front-upper portion, a front-lower portion, and a rear-middle portion, respectively, of the sliding door 113. And, the sliding door 113 is slidably supported by the body sidewall portion 111 through the hinge portions 114c,115c,116c, the hinge rollers 114b,115b,116b, and the slider rails 114,115,116.
Over the slider rail 114, a supporting rod 121 is provided. One end portion of the supporting rod 121 is engaged with the body sidewall portion 111 at the front of a getting-on-and-off opening 112. The other end is engaged with an inner panel 111a inside the body sidewall portion 111 at the back of the getting-on-and-off opening 112.
A cable 123 is wound to the supporting rod 121, and a cave portion 124a for the cable 123 is formed inside the body sidewall portion 111 in order to prevent the cable 123 from coming into contact with the inner panel 111a, an outer panel 111b, and the like. An opening portion 124b for the cable 123 is formed on the body sidewall portion 111 on a side of the getting-on-and-off opening 112.
The cable 123 is continuously pulled rearward by its own torsional elasticity. And, the cable 123 is connected to an electric appliance 126.
On the other hand, a receiving portion 122 slidable laterally is provided on the hinge portion 114c, and a ring portion 122a is formed at the end of the receiving portion 122. A supporting rod 121 is put through the ring portion 122a and supports the cable 123. And, the other end 123b of the cable 123 goes through the receiving portion 122 and the hinge portion 114c and connected to an electric appliance (e.g. speaker) 125 in the sliding door 113.
In the above prior art, however, a large accommodating space of the cable 123, that is, the cave portion 124a is necessary and further a long cable is necessary, which cause big electric resistance.
And, a larger winding diameter of the cable 123 is required in case that a number of circuits are necessary, which causes a larger receiving space.
Next, another example disclosed in the above Patent Application Laid-open No. 7-222274 will be described hereinafter.
Referring to FIGS. 11A, 11B, 12A, and 12B, a reel mechanism 130 having a coil spring (not illustrated) is provided in the body sidewall portion 111 at the back of the getting-on-and-off opening 112. And, a receiving portion 139 is provided on the hinge portion 114c of the sliding door 113. The cable 137 wound to the reel mechanism 130 goes through an opening portion 124b and is secured to the receiving portion 139. And further, the cable 137 goes along the receiving portion 139 and the hinge portion 114c, and is connected to an electric appliance (e.g. speaker) 125 installed inside the sliding door 113.
The other structures of the sliding door 113 are similar to the above example.
In case of the present power feeding unit, however, the reel with a large diameter is required in order to reduce the winding number of the cable, which makes the unit larger.
Further, a larger reel mechanism is required in case that a number of circuits are necessary or a larger electric wire is used.